PITTSBURGH – This is why you need to have Andrew Ference in your lineup.

No, not just because he led the rush up ice and then drove the net to help set up what proved to be the game-winning goal by David Krejci 8:23 into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Saturday night at CONSOL Energy Center.

The number of times people have counted out Boston Red Sox star designated hitter David Ortiz are too many to count.

Other than this season, Ortiz seemingly started the year in a terrible slump that sent everyone headed for the closest microphone or telephone to declare he should be traded, released retired every season.

It’s just that Carl Hagelin’s goal that crossed the line Thursday in New York while Rask was on his rear end breathed life into the New York Rangers, who went on to an overtime win that pushed the Eastern Conference Semifinals to a Game 5.

Bruins didn’t have to look too far back into history to know that a solid Game 1 win wouldn’t easily translate into a Game 2 victory.

After lighting the world on fire in Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against Toronto just a couple weeks ago, the Bruins let the Maple Leafs rolls over them with a mistake-filled game in Game 2.

If any of Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden return to health and get back in the Bruins’ lineup, the odds are that Torey Krug will find himself in the press box or back on the farm with Providence of the AHL.

Nonetheless, one game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs proved one thing about Krug’s future with the Bruins or anywhere in the NHL: he at worst has a career as a power-play specialist.

Unfortunately for him, the New York Rangers don’t have too many players that share that hobby. And even if they did, Marchand says the referees in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been quick to threaten 10-minute misconducts at the slightest hint of trash talk.

The euphoria of the Bruins’ seven-game triumph against the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn’t completely left the dressing room at TD Garden.

But three days since Boston rallied from three goals down to beat the Maple Leafs and advance to the series that starts Thursday night against the New York Rangers, the Bruins are just about ready to point their attentions to the future from the past.

With all due respect to the once famous “Sheriff” from Winnipeg, Shane Hnidy was a major drop-off for the Bruins by the time he returned to the team to add depth to the defense corps for the 2011 run to the Stanley Cup championship.

One of the hottest buys out there, Bruins-Rangers tickets are selling at an average price of $413 according to TiqIQ. Your best bet of seeing high-flying playoff action might be Thursday night in Boston, as the $110 get-in price looks to be the cheapest of the series. Here’s a full breakdown of the series prices:

In an environment where everyone was expecting that Bruins coach Claude Julien and his staff could be near their end of days had the Bruins not made their miracle comeback Monday in Game 7 against Toronto, general manager Peter Chiarelli obviously wanted to restate his confidence in those he’s placed behind his team’s bench to steer this club into the second round and beyond.

Do they want to be like Dr. Jekyll, the mild-mannered English doctor in Victorian London? Or do they want to be the violent and evil Mr. Hyde? After all, both personalities would come in handy in trying to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.